5th 4DX theater in the nation opens in Buena Park, where moviegoers get in on the action

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Bryan Park, CJ CGV analyst, from left, Jason Kim, CJ CGV west regional director, and Gary Reynolds, special projects inspector, are immersed in the 4DX experience at The Source, Buena Park. Smoke, scent, moving seats and mist is part of the 4DX screening. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Jason Kim, CJ CGV west regional director, left, and Gary Reynolds, special projects inspector, rock and roll to car crashes and gunshots in a 4DX screening of 'XXX: Return of Xander Cage' where the seats rock front and back, left and right, at CGV Cinemas at The Source, Buena Park. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

CGV, background, is an eight-theater “cultureplex” at The Source in Buena Park. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

CJ CGV debuted its first Orange County location at The Source in Buena Park on Friday. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Shane Valencia, CJ CGV director of operations, shows off the comforts at the movie theater in The Source in Buena Park. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

CJ CGV's Buena Park multi-plex features Asian films with subtitles along with Hollywood blockbusters. The Buena Park cinema offers 4DX, ScreenX, luxury seating and even a bar. A variety of popcorn and Asian treats are also sold. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Soju, beer and nonalcoholic beverages, along with Asian eats, are offered at the CJ CGV cinemas bar. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Special effects, like the smell of gunpowder, are synched to CJ CGV's 4DX movies. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Special effects, like the smell of gunpowder, are synched to CJ CGV's 4DX movies. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Bryan Park, CJ CGV analyst, is enveloped by smoke used to enhancing the 4DX experience at The Source's new CJ CGV theaters in Buena Park. It is part of a complete revamp of Buena Park's entertainment corridor. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A reporter experiences a CJ CGV theater screening with Korean subtitles for 'XXX: Return of Xander Cage.' CJ CGV has opened at The Source in Buena Park. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Inside, theater seats rumble and sway with the action of the movie. Pressure points in the cushion push into your body when an actor lands a punch or a kick.

When a car hits a ramp during a chase scene in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage,” moviegoers feel weightless as the vehicle flies through the air in slow motion.

Machines beneath the screen spread fog. Overhead fans blow wind and large drums attached to the ceiling add rain or mist. Scents of gun powder, flowers, the Pacific breeze are pumped into the theater.

A ticket to the show costs $21.50 at peak times.

“We want our customers to leave the theater thinking: This is the new cinema,” said Jason Kim, CJ CGV America West Regional director. After a soft opening, the CJ CGV theaters held a grand opening Friday. “This is the new way the theater has to go. A new thrill. A new experience.”

“You don’t want to overstimulate,” Yi cautioned. “Less is more. You only want to add to the story. You don’t want to distract from it. We’re in the business of giving people their money’s worth, so we want to punch up parts that need action, but at the same time, we don’t want the movie to be about 4DX. We want it to be about the story.”

Though action movies are the likeliest to be brought to life, Yi said 4DX can submerge moviegoers in any genre.

“You’d be surprised at the alternative content that’s not action that we work on,” she said. “Like animation; we get to be so imaginative. What does it feel like to be on a hovercraft? For ‘Frozen’ we can have seats synched to the soundtrack.”

CJ CGV has 351 4DX theaters across 44 countries. Buena Park joins New York, Los Angeles and Chicago as the only American cities to boast its immersive cinematic trend. CJ 4DPLEX and Regal Cinemas, the country’s largest cinema exhibitor, plan to debut 17 new 4DX theaters by the end of 2018. The partnership has opened one at LA Live.

Patrick Corcoran, vice president and chief communications officer of the National Association of Theatre Owners, said early returns for 4DX suggest moviegoers enjoy the thrill. But, he added, “I don’t see it becoming the way of seeing a movie. It’s more of an add-on, but there will be people who want that.

“The idea behind the movie theater is that it’s a place for people to go to be entertained – and in a lot of different ways,” Corcoran said. “As long as there’s new technology that adds to the possibility of enjoyment, and that people are willing to pay for, you’re going to see theaters trying it.”

Audiences in Orange County have no shortage of theater options from discount to art house, IMAX to luxury; 3D screenings are standard offerings. Moviegoers don’t have to drive far to get a beer with their popcorn or waiter service.

At Buena Park’s The Source, CJ CGV is padding its potential for success by also tapping into the region’s Asian market and luxury theater demands.

CJ CGV’s three-screen Koreatown cinema opened in 2010. The volume of Asian immigrants living in Orange County prompted the franchise’s expansion south, Kim said.

“To debut a theater like this in Orange County, it’s a booming area,” he added. “There’s Koreatown, and L.A. has been the happening place, but now, everything’s moving here.”

At any time, CJ CGV will play several Asian movies, with English subtitles. The theater also will show a handful of American films subtitled in Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. The lobby sells traditional movie and Korean snacks. A bar serves beer, wine and cocktails that use a Korean wine, Soju, in place of vodka.

The eight-theater multiplex also has a luxury theater, a theater that expands audiences’ perspective with a multi-projection, 270-degree screen and its largest auditorium has a screen 642 feet wide, nearly 100 feet wider than any other.

As for 4DX, Yi said: “People who like it, really like it. It’s one of those things that has a cult following. If you’re really a fan, you’re going to see every movie in 4DX.”

Brian Whitehead covers San Bernardino for The Sun. Bred in Grand Terrace, he graduated from Riverside Notre Dame High and Cal State Fullerton. For seven years, he covered high school and college sports for The Orange County Register. Before landing at The Sun, he was the city beat reporter for Buena Park, Fullerton and La Palma.